Magnaficent
10% of all Spitfires produced – came from Salisbury and the city is justly proud of its wartime achievements.
It was time for our mission to see the city’s most iconic landmark, the cathedral, arguably the most picturesque on our shores.
It’s a breathtaking – literally, if you climb the tower – 400ft medieval masterpiece that has been a place of worship and wonder for more than 800 years. It’s such a symbol of England that the Three Lions is etched on one of its magnificent stained-glass windows.
I’ll leave the facts and figures to the guide book, but the true wonder is to personally experience its Gothic majesty. And we did – not just seeing its awe-inspiring interior, which makes Hogwarts look like a town hall, but also making the climb up the tower to the foot of the iconic spire.
Our guide Tricia led the way on a 332-step climb past fantastic architecture and historic graffiti before reaching the bell tower which conveniently has ear muffs you can borrow if the great bell tolls while you are up there. It’s definitely worth timing your ascent to witness this.
From the top you have a fantastic, if windy, 360-degree bird’s-eye view of Salisbury and beyond – a landscape unblemished by high-rise buildings which stretches miles into the distance of Wiltshire, and is renowned for its barley ‘Fields of
Gold’ immortalised in song by one of the county’s most gilded residents, Mr Gordon Sumner.
There was even a Blue Peter moment when Tricia presented us with our ‘I’ve been behind the scenes at Salisbury Cathedral’ badge.
Coming back down to earth, you will find the world’s oldest working clock, then enter the Chapter House to view one of only four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta, the first document to put into writing the principle that the king was not above the law. In amongst all the splendour, this was the one disappointment. The delicate sheepskin document has to be housed in the dark and under glass – it is kept in a booth akin to a passport photo kiosk.
A great tip is to visit the cathedral in the late afternoon so you can enjoy the enthralling evensong choir – a life-affirming experience whatever your religious beliefs.
No trip to Salisbury is complete without seeing Stonehenge. It certainly divides opinion. A mysterious, mystical wonder of engineering… or a boring pile of rocks?
The way we did it was to take the half-hour walk across the ancient fields from the Visitor Centre, listen to the guide on an app, then have the old-fashioned joy of seeing the rocks suddenly rise into view without the experience being ruined by cars zooming past on the A303. Walk around the stones avoiding the selfie sticks for 15 minutes, then get the shuttle bus back.
And that’s the weekend of spires, stones, Spitfires and Sting sorted. Apart from buying a T-shirt with the slogan ‘Stonehenge Rocks’.
Pardon the pun.
Producer of 2,500 Spitfires, the city is proud of its wartime achievements